Big girl!

My baby is growing up. She was sitting in her high chair this morning with some diced prunes, pears, and some crackers. She had a spoon in one hand and a fork in the other. She refused to eat food with her fingers - even her crackers! She ate all her prunes (3 total, diced in quarters), and half her pears (2 slices, diced), and one cracker - WITH HER FORK! She loved it! That was the first time for her that she used utensils on her own and she was so proud. So am I of course :)

I made mac n cheese from scratch today and OMG it was fantastic! It was simple, and it took me about 10 minutes. I couldn't even get pics because I don't have my camera and my housemate is gone with her camera. Darn!

Ingredients:
Margarine
Flour
Milk (I'm going to try this next time with soymilk so Katie can eat it!)

Noodles
Cheese of choice

First, I got a 16oz bag of rotini noodles boiling. I wanted a noodle that would retain the cheese.

In a small (8") frying pan, I sautee'd a small onion, sliced thinly. 

Next, in a 10" frying pan, I made a roux/rue/howeveryouspellit: melted the margarine then mixed in the flour. It turned into a paste but I let it cook for a few minutes whipping it the whole time. After about 3 mins of cooking the flour/butter, I added milk and salt/pepper to taste.Whipping constantly, I cooked it until it was the consistency I wanted it. I think I could have used more milk to make it go farther but I think this was perfect. Take it off the burner if you have an electric stove!

Once the rue was the consistency I liked - sorta like applesauce - I mixed in the onions and about 1/2c shredded mozzarella/provolone mixture and about 1c diced monterey jack cheese. Then mixed all that with the now drained noodles.

Once it was all mixed together, I put it in a casserole dish and topped it with crumbled Club crackers. I baked it at 400* for about 10 minutes - just enough to give the top a crisp and melt the cheese.

I so wish I had pics!! It turned out perfect!! There are leftovers though, so I might get some yet.

Butt-kickin'

Short update: School is kicking my butt. I missed one day of class because our internet was down, and it really discouraged me. I even considered dropping out because I feel so overwhelmed. *sigh*.

Hap-py

Katie's new thing is to start dancing, chanting, and beat-bopping at bedtime. She fights going to sleep like crazy. Tonight, she kept head banging and chanting "hap-py, hap-py!" She was blowing kisses and dancing on the bed. It took a couple of hours to get her to sleep. While it's exhausting and sometimes frustrating that she fights sleep like the plague, it's super adorable and sometimes she gets me laughing so hard, I forget I'm supposed to be firm with her to get her to sleep!

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I've been doing okay with school, so far. My first big assignment is tomorrow. Let's goooooo 6 page paper! Not only that, we just got assigned our "learning teams" in class so I'm going to learn a whole new way of studying. I'm sort of looking forward to it, but I'm also sort of stressing over it. One day at a time.

Sweets

Today, I had some more fresh raspberries that Katie wasn't eating. Of course, once I wanted to start cooking with them, she wanted to eat them! After I convinced her they were all gone, I was able to start cooking.

First, I started with cheesecake cupcakes. I was going to mix in some of the raspberries but totally spaced on it. Oops! They turned out fantastic anyway, and only took about ten minutes to prep! I got the recipe from here but I'll post it as well how I made them.

You'll need to make a graham cracker crust, so crumbled graham crackers, brown sugar and butter mixed together and pressed into the bottom of your cupcake cups.

Now, for the filling, you'll need:

2 packages of room temp cream cheese
3/4 c powdered sugar
2T lemon or lime juice
1tsp vanilla flavor
2 eggs

Mix together in a mixing bowl. I used my electric mixer and once I broke through the cheese I was able to mix on high for about 3 minutes. It'll be a little lumpy but don't worry, that bakes out.

Spoon into cupcake cups. Bake at 350* for about 18 minutes.

Here's what they bake out to. Super smooth and yummy! 

Let cool, then chill. I didn't "chill" them, I only let them cool. I think they'll be a lot better once COLD!

 

Now, my one regret was that I did not add brown sugar to the crust, so the graham crackers crumbled out and didn't stay together. Next time, I'll add brown sugar to hold the crust together. 

 

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 Now, I reduced the raspberries with some orange liquer and strawberry soda. About 5 minutes after they started boiling, I added about 2/3c of sugar.

I used the leftover graham cracker crust for the raspberry whateveritis.

I poured the raspberry reduction over the crust, then placed some Grand's biscuits on top. Baked at 325* for about 20 minutes. We enjoyed it with some Reddi-Whip! 

Bathtime!

We had a blast in the bath this morning! First, I had to play with my friend's camera while I had the opportunity, and Katie wanted to play footsies <3

She had fun with footsie peek a boo! 

THEN we busted out the bubbles. She loved them! This will definitely happen more often. I think it's almost time to get her into a real bath tub though. The bubbles made a heck of a mess of the kitchen!

 

Pizza Biscuits...

Guess who's back up to par? Miss Katie decided to go through one of my Christmas bags yesterday. She had a great time playing with the garland and making a mess of it on my bed. I think my bed is still sparkly, but it was worth it watching the confused look on her face when she "pet" it saying "niiiiice" like she would a doggy!

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Well, I haven't got around to the homemade tortillas yet, but I did have some fun with biscuits and muffin tins! I have a bunch of biscuits I scored, so I put some in a muffin tin and squished them down, making a perfect pocket. Then I put a piece of cheese and some pepperoni in the pocket on half of them. The other half, I mixed brown sugar and butter and filled the pocket with that. 

I placed them in a low oven (325*) for about 20 minutes. 

The sweet ones don't look too great, but boy they sure tasted great! I liked the pizza ones too. I didn't use pizza sauce but it wouldn't hurt to try it, or to dip them into it. 

Yummyyyyy! 

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Feelin' Better!

We're both feeling better today! I think I've kicked it. Katie has had a little bit of a fever still but she's holding everything down and tomorrow she should be back to 100%.

I made a heck of a dinner tonight but ya'll are going to have to wait until I get the photos off my friend's camera before I post what it is. So, it seems how-to and photos will be up tomorrow :)

Flu

Ugggghhhhh. It's that time of year. The flu that I've avoided for years has finally caught up with me. Unfortunately, it caught up with miss Katie too. Yesterday it started early for me: fever and body aches, then last night Katie started getting sick all over the place. It's been a battle to get her to hold down fluids but I think we kicked that battle's butt. We'll see.... She's now got a fever and it sleeping, but she seems to be holding stuff down. Me, my fever is gone but I still feel yucky.

Avocado anyone?

Last night I made avocado pasta. What an interesting concept! It was fantastic too. I will tweak the recipe next time because I rarely make the same thing twice, but here's my recipe from last night:

3 large ripe avocados
1/4c fresh lime juice
1/2 c EVOO
3 large garlic pieces
1/4c sour creme
1 package of McCormick Guac mix

Blend, salt to taste, toss with cooled pasta, sprinkle with your favorite shredded cheese:

Enjoy!

Welcome

Today, I took Katie to church. I went to a church that I frequent from time to time, and have always felt welcome. Walking into the sanctuary (or 'auditorium' as they call it) with Katie in tow, a lady tapped me on my shoulder and strongly suggested I take Katie to the nursery. I told her no thanks. She insisted that Katie shouldn't be in there during the service and I should take her to the nursery. Again, I politely declined. AGAIN she did it. I (not so politely) insisted I'm keeping her with me.

After this little back and forth, she proceeds to tell me how someone did that to her when her child was a young mother, and she never went back to that church. Now, WHY would she do it to me if she knew exactly how it made me feel (having had it done to her before)? She told me "well, I'm the pastor's wife and I just don't want him getting distracted".

I was bummed. I really did like that church and now I can't sit comfortably and listen to the service because if Katie makes a peep I feel like that lady's gonna shoot daggers at me. Granted, I will eventually take Katie to the nursery but I was enjoying her cuddles as she napped <3

Budget Tip

So today mom and I hit Big Lots. Well, not literally, but we caught the tail end of their Christmas decor sale. We scored some wrapping paper and ornaments for 75% off!

If you're anything like me, buying Ziploc type bags is annoying. They're overpriced, and never last long enough. I usually try to re-use them because I just don't like to buy them. At the Dollar Tree, they are a buck for about 30-50 sandwich baggies. Not too bad, right? Well, they're also a buck for 15 big zipper bags. Still, okay but I hate paying that.

Most stores with holiday decor (any holiday really!) have snack baggies: holiday decorated zipper bags. So, keeping the Dollar Tree prices in mind, imagine a 30 pack of cute decorated sandwich baggies, for THIRTY CENTS! Yep, $0.30 for 30 zip up sandwich baggies, and $0.30 for a 15 pack of the full size baggies. Needless to say, we stocked up (okay, bought about $3 worth). Who cares if there's a penguin on the baggy? The milk jug in the fridge isn't going to complain about the view. Also, they make for handy "doggy bags" when you have guests over. Can never be too prepared.

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Fried pickles? Who'da thunk?

So today I finished my 3 workshops for school prep. They were a lot more work than I'd planned on but hey, they sure got me back in the zone to start school!

I experimented with frying pickles and olives. They turned out super yummy but way too greasy. Because the pickles and olives held their own moisture, I simply dipped them in a flour/seasoning mixture I'd prepared, then deep fried them in vegetable oil for about 2 minutes.

Next time, I will prepare a batter and try baking them. Less grease and it'll give it more texture.

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Now, a friend of mine made tortillas from scratch, and they look oh so yummy! Here's my next plan of attack: 

Recipe and prep report hopefully soon!

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Here's a little piece of heaven to brighten your day:

Yayyy!!!

Today, while Katie was indulging in a THREE hour nap, she opened her eyes from a sound sleep and yelled "YAYYYYYY!!!", whilst clapping. Then promptly closed her eyes and was sound asleep again. She kept smiling in her sleep so she was full of happy dreams. It was super cute! I wish I'd had my camera close to capture one of those grins!

I didn't do much today. I did some homework for my workshops I'm doing, cooked dinner, and did a bunch of cleaning. I watched NCIS: Los Angeles while she was sleeping, and caught up on Sims and Words with Friends. Yes... games. Something I'm going to need to curve once my real classes start!

I had a photo to share, but my internet goes from 100mph to about 2.5 when the sun goes down. Photos tomorrow!

Back to school!

I am going back to school! Today I started 3 online workshops to assist me in jumping back into the online learning environment. It's a bit different than the online learning I did to get my Associates' degree, but at least I'm in the same school: University of Phoenix. Classes start next Tuesday! Meanwhile, the 3 day workshops take up a lot more time than I'd anticipated. Definitely a lesson on time management for me.

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I baked some tofu yesterday. A little bit about me: I LOVE TOFU! I consider myself a bit of a tofu connoisseur because I'll try it any way at least once, and I'm super particular how it *should* taste, versus how some places serve it. Rather than fry it like I usually do (baking = less oil = still working on losing that 40 lbs!), I baked it! And boy was it delicious! I don't like soft/soggy tofu. It's gotta have some texture to it, so I was kind of wary of baking it. Here's what I did: 

Got a simple metal cake pan (I am pretty sure this'll work better in a glass pan). Placed a whole brick of Azumaya firm tofu in the pan, poked a few holes in the top with my finger, drizzled with about 2T of EVOO and made sure it coated the whole brick (and underneath so it wouldn't stick). Then I added about 2T of liquid smoke, sprinkled with seasoned salt, and placed in a 375* oven for about 45 minutes. UNCOVERED! I believe covering will make it soggy and the point is to dry it out a little bit in keeping it uncovered. Once it was browned on the edges and a little tough on the sides, I removed from the oven, let cool, and had a fantastic lunch. Even Katie enjoyed it! 

Note: This would work great with extra firm tofu as well.

She makes me laugh

One thing I gotta say, my daughter is hilarious! Rewind a few weeks...

My camera broke so I've only just sent it back to the factory for a warrantied repair. So I have been forced to revert to my 4 year old point and shoot digi that captures red-eye in 19 out of 20 photos. So bear with me when every photo has red eye in it.

I dug out the old camera yesterday and started shooting. In Katie's first year, I captured at least one photo a day for her whole first year. Lately, I'm lucky to get one a week!

This is when we were playing with raspberries last night: 

How can you not smile at that?

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Last night I whipped up a cake. I wanted to use the last of the raspberries, so I pulled out some cake mix I had laying around. Bear in mind, I don't like cake. Usually it tastes eggy and it just isn't worth the calories to me. SO, when I do have cake mix, I have to add my own little twist to it:

I used about 3T of lemon juice, tore the raspberries in half and put them in after I mixed the batter. Baked according to the directions on the box and voila! A yummy cake! No eggs, no oil, and the soda is simply flavored soda water so no added sugar.

I may have over cooked it and forgot to grease the pan last night, but it still tasted super yummy!

Tonight's snack

I'm on a berry kick. We had some raspberries in the fridge and Katie was eating them up like candy. I figured I'd have a little snack. I don't recommend the butterscotch chips - they didn't really compliment the berry, but the peanut butter and chocolate chips were fantastic. Now this is a guilt free dessert!

Resolutions, take 2

• Lose 40 lbs: OF COURSE! Everyone has "lose weight" on their resolution list, right?
• Go to church more: at least 1x a month, preferably more!
• Go back to school and pursue my Bachelor's Degree
• Go to Los Angeles to visit family at least once in 2012
• Set a better example for Katie Joy
• Save and get a good camera

How I plan to lose 40 lbs in 2012: 
-Posting here that I plan to lose 40 lbs is big for me, because if I fail, I have to admit it here. I hate admitting failure!
-Make healthier eating choices: bake rather than fry, fresh rather than frozen, prepare less food per meal, allow for leftovers, eat leftovers, use smaller plates, use a bowl, and the list goes on.
-Drink water before sitting down to a meal. This makes my body think I'm full to begin with, and I eat less.
-Drink more water overall
-Exercise whenever possible: take the stairs, park farther from the store entrance when I'm shopping, take Katie to the park, eventually establish a routine at home

Pursue my degree: 
-CHECK! I'm enrolled and scheduled to start classes on January 17.

Set a better example for Katie: 
-First off, I need to work on my language. I don't cuss like a trucker but I do slip from time to time, so there's definitely room for improvement.
-Eat healthier meals so she can learn from my example
-Take her to church regularly
-Stay in school :)
-Be the mom I would want her to be

Get a good camera: 
I've got the Nikon D3100 in my sights. Now I've got to work on a saving plan! 
 

Breakfast time!

I have a new favorite. It's great for on the go breakfast, portion control, and it's delicious! These breakfast cupcakes are simple, super quick, and most of all - delicious!

You'll need:

Cupcake pan
As many eggs as you do cupcake slots
Cupcake cups (optional)
Spray oil/nonstick spray
Potatoes (chopped, tater tots, rounds or however you like your potatoes)
Seasoning of choice (I like salt/pepper)
Cheese of choice

Optional add-ins:
Chopped peppers/onions
Bacon bits
Chopped ham
Crumbled sausage

Prep:

• Spray cupcake pan or cupcake cups with nonstick spray
• Layer bottom of cup with potatoes (with potato rounds, I use 3 rounds)
• Crack egg over potatoes
• Sprinkle egg with seasoning
• Dash of cheese on top

Bake:
Place in a 400* oven for 15 minutes. Keep in mind, I like my eggs well done, so the timing can vary depending on how you like your eggs. Well done is also more freeze friendly for meals on the go.

It goes great as is, or dipped in your favorite sauce. I like buffalo sauce.

Cute, huh? I used the cupcake cups left over from Katie's birthday party.

Resolutions

You're either making new ones every year, or flat out refusing to make them: resolutions. I have yet to ever stick to mine. So this year, I'm documenting them and my steps I am taking to achieve them. For the whole world to see.

• Lose 40 lbs: OF COURSE! Everyone has "lose weight" on their resolution list, right?
• Go to church more: at least 1x a month, preferably more!
• Go back to school and pursue my Bachelor's Degree
• Go to Los Angeles to visit family at least once in 2012
• Set a better example for Katie Joy
• Save and get a good camera

My little inspiration just woke up - more on this later!!